Just five months after he retired as president/CEO of the $1.8 billion GTE Financial Federal Credit Union in Tampa, Fla., Joe Brancucci was named the first president of a new CUSO, CURateReset, Aug. 11.

CURateReset is a subsidiary of Rate Reset in collaboration with Pentagon Federal Credit Union, other credit unions and CUSOs, soon be announced, according to a prepared statement from the McClean, Va.-based Rate Reset, a fintech firm offering software that allows borrowers to change the terms of their mortgage and auto loans.

"In this chapter of my career, I want to help the industry I have dedicated my life to, and I believe I have found that with CURateReset," Brancucci said in a prepared statement.

In January, Brancucci and the GTE Financial board of directors mutually agreed that he take a leave of absence to allow the board to conduct a review.

"I hadn't taken a lot of time off in the years that I had been there and it was mutually acceptable that we needed to have some time to work out some challenges, and I needed to work on some personal challenges, and that's where we stood," Brancucci said.

Brancucci did not elaborate on what those challenges were.

In March, Brancucci said he retired on his own terms though he indicated that he planned to stay involved in the credit union industry in some executive capacity. CU Times named Brancucci CEO of the Year in 2013.

Brian Best was appointed the new president/CEO of GTE Financial in May.

"CURateReset provides me the opportunity to help to refine and to redefine the credit union member lending experience," Brancucci said. "A positive lending experience relies on start-to-finish efficiency associated with the loan, from origination to maturity. These factors are the primary differentiators between CURateReset products and other antiquated lending processes. The loan rate is only part of the equation necessary to accommodate the expectations of the next generations of credit union borrowers. CURateReset products, therefore, are designed to assure that credit unions effectively capture an increasing market share of future member loans."

Keith Kelly, CURateReset CEO, said Brancucci was hired because of his extensive experience in credit union lending, indirect lending and mortgage lending.

"Joe brings to this new role many years of credit union lending leadership and innovation, and a keen sense of how credit unions can continue to attract and retain the next generation of members," Kelly said.

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